Deadly Evidence

Ryan feared he would fail.

THREE (#u7c245813-be92-5a77-b0e5-cfb570aa7e1d)

Making their way to the falls, they trekked alongside the fast-moving river, Tori leading Ryan, who trailed a few paces back. The roar grew louder with their approach. The force of the falls up ahead compelled the river forward, causing it to be swift and dangerous. The memories of the moment Graveyard Falls pulled her down and over lashed at her insides.

She hesitated for a moment, unsure if she could keep up the search for her kayak, and stopped to watch the river. While swirling in that vortex, she’d feared she would die.

Had Sarah known she was going to die? What were her last thoughts? Tori hated to think of the terror her sister must have endured. Had Sarah also spoken someone’s name in those moments before her death? And if she had, whose name would she have said?

A loved one’s?

Or the killer’s?

A shudder crawled over her.

“You okay?” She was freed from her musings by the arrival of Ryan’s sturdy form next to her.

“Sure.”

Tori shook off the morbid thoughts and started hiking again. She turned her focus instead to this path next to the river and the unbidden memories floating to the surface. She and Ryan had hiked this trail on multiple occasions when they were seeing each other. Probably like the young couple who had pulled her from the river earlier in the day.

Back then, it had been just the two of them. Hand in hand. Falling deeper in love with each passing day.

And they’d shared more than one amazing kiss right here when no one else was around. Her chest grew tight.

Was he thinking about those kisses, too? She hoped not, but when she glanced over her shoulder and caught his pensive gaze, she knew where his mind had gone—to them as a couple before she left.

Pain cut through her at how different things were now. Instead of a couple in love enjoying a nature walk, they were now joined together only by the need to find a killer before he struck again. Was that why she’d said his name earlier? Because he was the investigator on Sarah’s case? Tori had thought she was going to die, and maybe she’d wanted to somehow let Ryan know that her death hadn’t been an accident. She’d thought of him—her last coherent thought before the greatest struggle of her life, and then, she’d huffed out his name when she came to.

If she hadn’t said his name, they would probably be here together now anyway, since she would have gone to him to report the attack on her as soon as she left the hospital. That she’d said his name shouldn’t matter so much, but it bothered her and she wanted to know why. She would have to think about that later, though. Much more pressing matters needed her attention.

She hiked forward, closing in on the falls.

The flash of color on the other side of a rocky outcropping drew her attention. “There. I see a kayak.”

“Fortunately it’s not across the river,” he said. “Are you sure it’s yours?”

“It looks like mine, and if it’s not, then that could mean someone else went over the falls.” She didn’t think that was the case.

Spotting the kayak exhilarated her. Now they were getting somewhere. Not that she feared he doubted her words—not anymore, at least—but the kayak with a bullet hole or two in it would go a long way to boost her theory, one she hoped Detective Bradley was also formulating.

They made their way around boulders and roots, and then to the edge of the riverbank where the broken kayak had wedged between rocks. Tori gasped at the sight. She wrapped her arms around herself.

That could have been her body. Broken and lifeless.

Ryan’s frown deepened. He appeared shaken as he pressed his hand over his mouth then rubbed his chin.

Then, seeming to pull himself together, he reached in the pocket of his jacket and tugged out a small camera. “Don’t worry. We’ll get Jerry, our tech, out here now that we know it’s part of a crime scene, but I want to take my own pictures just in case.”

Ryan walked around the kayak and took photographs from various angles.

She peered at the front portion. “See, just there. A bullet hole.”

“Here’s another.” He pointed, then crouched and took close-ups of the holes.

Tori looked around for the oar, but she doubted she’d find it. “I’m surprised a bullet went through the material, but I guess it all depends on the caliber of bullet and the quality of the kayak materials.”

“Right.”

“We’ll have to go up above the falls to look for rifle shells,” she said. “It’s a big area to search.”

“Finding a shell doesn’t mean it belonged to this particular shooter,” he said. “We need bullets, too.”

“Your lab can get ballistics, can’t they?” Tori had to be careful what she said. Ryan was probably kind of touchy about the limited resources of his job compared to hers, and she didn’t want to sound superior. But, well, the FBI had superior training, facilities and labs. The best, in fact.

He pursed his lips and eyed her as he got on his radio and asked for evidence collection and retrieval of the kayak. “We’ll need to wait here to make sure no one disturbs it intentionally or otherwise, although if they had intended to do that, I think the kayak would already be gone.”

Tori started toward the falls. “I’ll hike up topside and look for rifle shells. There were more than two shots fired, even though there are only two bullet holes in my kayak.”

Ryan grabbed her arm and gently squeezed as he pulled her toward him. “Are you serious? What makes you think whoever shot at you won’t try again? You’re not going up there.”

“In that case, what am I even doing out here with you?”

“Good question.” He worked his jaw as if angry with her. Angry with himself.

His concern for her chipped away at the wall around her heart. She reminded herself that his reaction didn’t mean that he cared for her on a personal level. Of course he would be this concerned for anyone. Right?

“I don’t think the shooter is still here,” she said. “When I got on the river, I had an eerie feeling. You know the one. I felt like someone was following me. Like someone was watching me. But I don’t sense that now.”

He scraped a hand through his hair, messing with the slicked-back look. “Come on, you can’t trust a feeling like that. Not saying you should ignore it when you sense that someone is watching you, but you can’t be certain you’re safe just because it doesn’t feel like anyone’s watching you.” He searched the ground near the kayak. For footprints? Too many hikers had been by the kayak today for forensics to find anything. After a minute, he lifted his gaze to look at the woods. A group of senior citizens hiked up the trail toward them, lost in their conversation. They smiled and bade them a good day as they passed.

The shooter wouldn’t try again here today with people out on the trail, would he? The couple who’d found her hadn’t been at the top of the falls where she’d been forced over. She’d been alone up there when he’d shot at her. Tori rubbed her arms and stared at the woods. She absolutely wouldn’t let fear take hold of her or stop her. “We have to find who did this, Ryan.”

Her comment drew a severe look from him, one that she knew well. Tori averted her gaze.

“Don’t you have a job back in South Carolina to get back to? How long are you staying again?” The friction between them edged his tone. “Bereavement leave doesn’t give you but a week or two, does it?”

“I...I don’t know,” she said.

“What?”

She hung her head. Closed her eyes. “You’re right. Officially, I only have two weeks, but I’m considering taking an indefinite leave.”

“Why would you do that?”

A feral emotion flashed in his gaze. She understood the deeper meaning behind his questions. She’d given him up. She’d left him for an FBI career—now he wanted an answer as to why she would give it all up for this investigation when she wouldn’t give it up for him. She offered a one-shoulder shrug. “Mom and Dad are devastated. They’ve lost a daughter, Ryan.” She looked in his eyes and took in the blue-green hues. “I need to be here for them and...”

Something shifted behind his gaze—and for the life of her, she couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. Again, she had the strong sense that he still cared about her. That he’d never stopped. Her next words would drive an even bigger wedge between them. She’d hurt him terribly when she’d chosen her career with the FBI over a relationship with Ryan. She’d wanted more than working law enforcement in a northern California county. She could have taken a job and worked with him, but she’d taken the FBI’s offer.